DJI Rumored To Announce $399 Mavic Mini To Conquer Mainstream 4K Drone Market
If you have any aspiration of owning a DJI Mavic drone, brace yourself for having to fork over several hundred dollars, or even over a grand—MSRPs range from $799 for the Mavic Air all the way up to $1,899 for the Mavic 2. Accessories and add-ons are extra. A cheaper variant may be in the wings, however, with rumors of a Mavic Mini drone debuting for $399.
If there is in fact a Mavic Mini done and it debuts at that price, it would be the least expensive Mavic model available. Incidentally, $399 is what DJI's Spark drone now costs (it debuted at $499). The Mavic series is more fully featured, with one of the key upgrades being the ability to record videos at 4K—the Spark records at 1080p.
According to DroneDJ, which got its mitts on a bunch of photos of the unreleased drone, the Mavic Mini will also be capable of recording at 4K. The main camera is said to be a 12-megapixel CMOS sensor mounted to a 3-axis gimbal similar to the Mavic Air's setup.
Source: DroneDJ
As the name implies, the Mavic Mini is a smaller and lighter drone—it is said to weigh 350 grams, with a diagonal length of 270 millimeters. The weight still puts it over 100 grams above the FAA's 250-gram limit, meaning owners would be required to register the drone.
"Unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds and more than 0.55 pounds (250 grams) on takeoff, including everything that is on board or otherwise attached to the aircraft and operated outdoors in the national airspace system must register," the FAA states in its Federal Drone Registration FAQ.
Overall, the Mavic Mini is similar in its physical design to the Mavic 2 Pro and Mavic 2 Zoom, and folds accordingly. However, it will feature a new battery with the addition of a battery door, inside of which sits a microSD card slot and USB connector, possibly of the USB-C variety.
It's not yet clear when the DJI will formally introduce the Mavi Mini.
